


two halves to a greater whole

by thelittleglaceon



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-07
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-08-20 02:21:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16546976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelittleglaceon/pseuds/thelittleglaceon
Summary: All of me, is it not just half of you?





	two halves to a greater whole

Robin stares at Chrom, a blank look in his eyes.

Chrom grips his shoulders roughly, trying to shake his tactician out from his shocked state. He screams in his face, tries to get Robin to respond, to do anything, to say anything, but Robin just stares blankly. Chrom's never seen him like this, so vulnerable and scared, and tries yelling louder to wake him up from his stupor. 

Unsure and unknowing of what to do, Chrom throws his arms around Robin, embracing the frail male as if his life depended on it. 

Chrom's seen him like this. Seen the tactician so out of it that even hits wouldn't phase him. It's scary, it's terrifying, it's the worst thing that Chrom can imagine. Yet it happens. It happens time and time again, and Chrom is all but helpless to stop it.  
  
"Robin, Robin..." Chrom whispers against Robin's ear, "Please, please, say something. I... I can't... I can't do this on my own, I need you. The army needs you. Ylisse needs you."  
Robin lays limp in his arms, not responding to any of the stimulus around him.   
  
Chrom can vaguely hear Lissa saying something, watches her talk to someone nearby, but he can't focus on anything else, not really. The only thing he can even think about is Robin. 

Robin's arms are unmoving, but Chrom feels Robin's breath against his neck, feels his heartbeat, and it's the only thing that keeps him from shedding any unwanted tears. Despite everything, despite the war, the one thing that has grounded him was Robin. And, if he needs it, Chrom will be the one thing that grounds Robin.  
Chrom rubs circles around Robin's back comfortingly.

They stay in that same position for a while.

"Chrom..." Robin finally says, his voice raspy and tired. "I can't do this anymore. I can't lie to you anymore."

"What do you mean?" Chrom asks, the fear in his tone evident. "Are you... Are you saying you don't-"  
  
Robin shakes his head, as if he already knew what he was going to say. "I'm never going to leave your side, Chrom. You know that."

"But what do you mean, Robin? I..." Chrom stops, feeling tears threaten to fall.  
  
The tactician gently pushes Chrom away, the former male slowly letting go.   
  
"Do you remember," Robin starts, "the fight on the boats? Where you told me that you believed that together we were one? That we were two halves of a greater whole?"  
  
Chrom nods, but the confusion in his eyes is evident.   
  
"No matter..." Robin stops, turning his eyes away from Chrom to look towards the battered camp. "No matter what I do... All of me... It's only half of you."  
  
"Robin?" Chrom says, taking a step towards the tactician.  
  
Robin shakes his head.  
  
"Would you consider all of you... to be half of me?" Robin stares, looking at the lord's eyes directly.   
  
Chrom takes a second to consider this.  
  
As his most trusted friend and partner for the last four years, saying that Robin is apart of him felt like an overstatement. Sharing moments together, crying together, loving each other... Robin... Robin is him - his companion, his love, his life.  
  
Robin stares at him, waiting patiently for an answer.  
  
"Of course." Chrom answers. "We're meant to be together. We're a team, right? Forever and always."  
  
"You know I can't promise you that..." Robin whispers, only barely loud enough for Chrom to hear.  
  
Chrom's eyes widen, and he can't help but start to yell. "Is this what this is about, Robin?! Are you asking me if I can't live without you? For gods sake, you already know the answer!"  
  
"Chrom-"  
  
"Don't do that, Robin!" His voice cracks. "You can't, you can't! Don't tell me that it's for the 'greater good', sacrificing yourself to that monster isn't our only choice! Naga even said it wasn't-"  
  
"You can't tell me to live with the choice of choosing myself over thousands of innocents' safeties." Robin shoots back, an angry look in his eyes. "You can't ask me of that."  
  
"I'm not asking you, it's an order." Chrom replies curtly.  
  
Robin takes a deep breath. "I'd do anything for you, Chrom. Together we are stronger, we can accomplish things that no army has ever even considered. You are my most trusted friend and the person I love the most in this world."

"Lucina and Morgan, you can't... You can't expect them to live with only one of us!"  
  
"Chrom!" Robin yells. "Let me talk!"  
  
"You have to promise me, Robin, you have to promise me as your general and your husband that you won't do anything rash. That you'll try your hardest to come back home to Ylisse with me, that we'll finally get to try that cake you wanted." Chrom's doesn't realize that tears are starting to fall. "We'll get to say hi to baby Lucina."  
  
"Chrom..." Robin says, his voice desperate.  
  
"Please... Don't do this, Robin." Chrom whispers, dropping his arms to his side.

"You..." Chrom starts. "You reminded me that I said the two of us were two pieces of a greater whole. I wasn't lying. Without you, I'm merely only a half of the person that I could be. Tell me, what would I be without you?"  
  
Robin looks up towards his husband, tears running down his face. "Chrom, I can't... I can't let the future die, no matter how much I want to. I don't want to die, I want to be here with you."  
  
"But, I'm the only one that can kill Grima for good. I'm the only one that can close this book of fear and terror permanently."  
  
Taking a deep breath, Robin runs to close the distance between the two of them. He throws his arms against his husband tightly, Chrom quickly returning the embrace.  
"Why do you think that Lucina tried so hard?" Robin whispers. "She knows what devastation that monster can bring. It killed you, Chrom. It killed you using my body, my hands, with my voice. You can't tell me that you want anyone else to go through that pain, even if you aren't thinking about it right now."  
  
"Be selfish, for once in your life." Chrom begs, "Future generations can damn us. I love you, Robin, and I just want to go home with you. I want to wake up to you by side every morning, I want to pull you away from your studying and force you to go to bed. I want to kiss you again, with no worries about if we have a tomorrow or night. Please."  
  
"Chrom..." Robin pulls away slightly to stare at his husband's face. "I love you."  
  
"I love you so much. That's why... That's why I must selfishly beg you to reconsider. Your husband, the scared and selfish man he is, just wants to be able to spend the rest of his life with you. Please. Please, Robin."  
  
Robin, despite his sobbing, tries to force a small smile. "Aren't I so lucky to be damned with the one man who loves me no matter what?"

"I want to love you for the rest of my life." Chrom says, burying his head into his tactician's shoulder. It smells like him. "That's all I want."  
  
Robin tightens his grip around him. "And I'll love you for the rest of mine."  
  
Chrom isn't satisfied with his husband's answer, but it's all he can do to keep himself from falling apart right now. In a mere few days, the final fight they'll face will be here. Whether they live or die, whether or not the future Lucina lived through will happen, it all depends on the fate of their next battle. 

Despite Robin's wishes to sacrifice himself, Chrom will do everything in his ability to keep him away from Grima. In order to save his husband and their future together, Chrom already is willing to damn himself in the blood of his people in order to keep Robin by his side. 

* * *

 

  
Chrom breaks into a sprint, reaching his hand out trying to reach his husband.   
  
He helplessly watches as Robin's fading, disappearing, watching each part of his body slowly starts to remove itself from the world as they know it. 

"Robin, why?" Chrom screams out, pushing his way through his army like a bull. It's not fast enough, it's never fast enough, and if he doesn't catch up then Robin will be gone forever. "Why does it have to be like this?  
  
Robin sees Chrom, and forces a small smile. "I love you, Chrom."

And then he's gone.  
  
Chrom drops to his knees and _screams_.


End file.
